Hawke, Owens lead Skyhawks to hard-fought win

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 15, 2021) – Behind double-doubles from Kaitlyn Hawke and Te'a Owens, the Point University volleyball team picked up an Appalachian Athletic Conference victory (25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 15-17) Friday night against Johnson University.

With the win, the Skyhawks advanced to 11-11 (8-6 AAC) and the Royals fell to 15-12 (4-9 AAC).

The Skyhawks seemed poise to put the match away in straight sets as they led 2-0 and built an early 4-0 advantage in the third set, but Johnson went on a 5-1 run to cut down Point's lead. Neither team would jump out by more than three points for the remainder of the set. The Royals would close the set out on a 4-1 run to avoid the sweep and send the match into a fourth set.

The Skyhawks jumped out to a 10-2 lead to open the fourth set and the Royals were unable to recover, as Point went on to earn the match victory.

Owens had a game-high of 13 kills and tallied on 18 digs. Sarah Baucham followed Owens with 12 kills. Hawke recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 20 assists and 16 digs. Point's defense was led by Madison Bentley, who recorded 20 digs, and Whitney Ward led in defensive efforts with 16 digs and had a team-high of five aces. 

Up next, Point travels to Barbourville, Kentucky, for an AAC matchup with Union tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 16. Game time is at 1 p.m.